Wednesday, June 19, 2013

It was an epic storm and we didn't know it.
True, it was raining as if it would never stop. It began raining on the weekend, and all of Monday. We couldn't go out, but we didn't much want to either. So Mian and I cancelled our appointments and pulled out the scrabble board. Shona got cabin fever, so Mian rolled about on the floor with her. The lack of electricity meant cooking was a challenge, but we had plenty of bread and we don't get tired of 'bread+' meals. And so we were mystified when the worried phone calls started coming in.
The evening before Mian left was dismal. There was no electricity, our computers were long dead, and he was leaving. Shona caught our mood, and three glum people sat slumped on the sofa.
The next morning, we woke up to this.

The rain had stopped. After 3 days of pouring down without a break, the rain had stopped. The sky could be seen in parts. The sun backlit the clouds and caused the mist to rise from the forests. We were glad, Mian and I , that he was leaving in the middle of such great beauty, that this view is what he would carry back with him.

The bijli will come soon, he said. On his way down to the train station, he messaged me updates about the road and checked on whether power was back. And then the messages stopped. Not that he wasn't worried any more, but 3 days after the power went out, my phone died on me. It would take another 24 hours and two false starts before it came back on.
It is only now that I know the extent of the damage in the state. And once again, I am humbled by how lucky I am..In the middle of this crisis, our problems were inability to work, lack of a cooked meal, wet clothes.How silly it all seems.